Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1887-11-26
NEW BOOKS.
BACON OR SHiKESPEARE--DOS-
NELLY,S "CRYPTOGRAM."
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thus Donnellys solution Oh the OSestlon,
- Did Shakespeare write the plays attrib-
uted to him." is at hand from the pub
fishers. Il. S. Peale & Co., Chicago, New
York and London. 1t is a large and hand
some volume and does infinite credit to the
taste OF the publishers. The work is d.
vided into two distinct parts, in which, to
his own satisfaction at least, Mr.. Donnelly
has proved Sir Francis Bacon wrote the
nlays credited TO William Shakespeare.
The first of these parts IS entitled The
Argument" the second THE Demonstra-
tion.n The method of the presentation is
novel, but DIR. Donnelly needs no apology
for the style. 1t is orderly and logical, so
far as that is concerned. The dictIon is not
that of fine style, indeed there was no de-
mand for it, and little room for fine writ
ing" II is more in the nature of brief
and argument. But Mr.. Donnelly has in
vested 1t with profound interest, and his
direct, well-chosen and forcible sentences
have a strong attraction for the reader
Since we have heretofore expressed disbe-
lief in Mr.. Donnelly's conclusion and
doubted the logic of his proofs ="
we feel that it is due to him
to state his side of the case. Yet
within the ordinary limits of q book re-
view in q newspaper this cannot be salts
factorilv done. No recent modern work
exhibits evidence of more painstaking and
mathematical labor and patient application
than this. Donnelly must be man of re-
markably persevering disposition, while
his reading upon the subject in hand has
Gnquestionably been exhaustive and ana
lytical. His work will command the widest
attention, and will probably reach an alti-
tude in great book sales paralleled by but
few. For there is that mystery and ro-
nance surrounding the question he debates
kl.ot -
desire to learn of all that is possible to be
evolved from a progressive and rational
cipher, such as Mr.. Donnelly claims to
have discovered in the famous folio edition
of 1923. He asserts that he searched the
common editions in vain for the true sew
eral keys that unlock the mystery and dis
close Bacon to have been the author of the
plays. Some glimpses of what he believes
to be the truth, he Gid indeed get, but not
until he opened the great folio was the
cipher Bacon employed made clear to him.
In the Argument Mr.. Donnelly clearly.
logically and with a vigor and directness
that challenges admiration, lays down the
claims made for Bacon, and marshals the
evidence by which the claim is fortified.
In part second the attention is kept upon
the cipher and the exterior proofs that
justify him. We can readily comprehend
the magnitude of the work he must have
done in working out this cipher. 1t de-
serves to rank with the most laborious eff
forts of authorship in modern times. b" The
Argument is in three parts. In the first
it states the reasons for believing Shakes
peare did not write the plays. These are
the well-known doubts; but in the second
part the reasons are set forth why it is iusti-
fable to believe that Bacon wrote the plays.
The third part is bringing together of the
stronger points of the other two, with illus
trations of Bacon's admitted works in COM
parison with lines taken from the PLAYS.
which bear a striking resemblance to
Shakespeares text and go far to establish
identities of style. Mr.. Donnelly contends
that the author of the plays was LAWYER,
a poet and a philosopher, and it is NOT
to be denied that his proofs are very
strong upon these points Not the least
weighty are those that reveal the profound
knowledge possessed by the playwright of
religions. Shakespeare was not he holds
according to all possible proof to be OBJ
tanned concerning him. poet, a philoso-
pher, lawyer, or practiced in theological
research. He certainly shows that he was
not profound scholar, but it might be re-
piled that such proof does not establish the
negative to the claim of marvellous genius
for Shakespeare. However, it is not the
purpose here TO debate with Mr. Donnelly.
but only to indicate to our readers what is
the character of the work, and what the
method of treatment employed. Thus, he
proceeds to show that whoever wrote the
plays must have been well yersed in the
classics, and great reader of the classical
authors, as well as one familiar with the
languages of Europe. In all these respects
Shakespeare he finds wanting, while no
other man OF his era so completely fills the
requirements of poet, lawyer, philosopher.
nnllticial linuTTiqt plaGcfpiSt
cal student as Francis Bacon. Very con-
siderable space is given to proofs of the
lnadequacy OF Shakespeare's education.
his crude style of speech and composi-
ton, and the difficulty with which he
wrote even so much as his name
His character is not spared either. and he is
presented in so unfavorable light as to
lead Mr. Donnelly to conclude that a man
so poor in morals could not have conceived
or given voice to such lofty sentiments as
illumine the plays. or the profound philos
ophy that makes them the wonder of the
world. We pass the inquiries into probable
sources from which Shakespeare could
have acquired knowledge, and the more
interesting review of the mystery OF the
loss of the manuscript of the PLAYS. which
is complete that not line of them has ever
been found, and no more of the penman
ship Of Shakespeare discovered than five
rude signatures, so coarse and illesible as
to suggest the thought that Shakespeare
could not write at adj. In the second part
OF " the argument" Mr.. Donnelly cites the
proofs that Bacon wrote the PLAYS. IT is
scarcely necessary to more than name a
few OF these, as they must be familiar to
the reader. First, Bacon possessed all the
scholarly qualifications and learning essen
tial 10 such authorship; he was the most
brilliant genius OF his time the profound
est and most original thinker, a phileso-
pher and poet, a politician and a LAWYER.
The home of Bacon is often men.
toned In the plays, that of Shakes
peare not once, The geographic
information disclosed by the plays CORE
sponds with Bacon's novels and studies,
but there is no record of Shakespeare hax-
ing more than knowledge of the localities
Immediately related to avery small district
Bacon was man high strung. of arista-
cratic tastes and associations, and in the.
plays it is reflected that the author was,
familiar with men and women of that
order, whereas Shakespeare had no associa-
tons or tastes of that kind, and his COM
Panlons We're, as rule, OF low degree and
breeding. Whoever wrote the PLAYS was Of
the same political school to which Bacon
belonged, and entertainedthe same preiu-
dices. Moreover, he was a Protestant or q
free thinker, while Shakespeare died n
Roman Catholic. Mr.. Dennelly follows
up these positive proofs thatthe PLAYS were
In harmony with the aims OF Bacon iur-
ing the major portion of his life. He
had reason for concealiag his an
thorship, in the fear that the
tree criticism of the dramas would
imperil his social and his political ambi-
ton, but as the plays brought in a revenue
he wrote for pecuniary gain, and they were
produced in that period of his life when
necessities were greatest and bis :Sceans at
their lowest ebS. The argument" closes
with examples of parallelism, identity of
expressions, idess and whole passages. err
rors and style IN the comparison. of the
acknowledged writings of Bacon. - The
demonstration is devoted to the elnoida-
uon OF Mr.. Donnesly's claim of discovery of
a cipher in the plays that disclose Bacon as
Their author. Certainly Bacon was given
10 research In cryptegraphy; he constructed
anu borrowed ciphe-s, and wrote un6er
concealments as pas:ime and tor specific
purposes. The manner in which NJ
Donnetly develops the cipher cannot lie
mere explained for obvious reasons II ie
indeed. susceptible of not briefer sst;sfar,
tory presentation that Nj. DonnelIv moIas
Ii may IN brief be stated. however that -
results nom the discovery of the regular
recurrence of certain words. at fixed i1ta--
walls, determined by certain and unvary-;r,,,
arthmeilcal calculations, which diecIose
upon pages and in H1es carta;r,